Love, Hate, and Ores
by kimazuikame
Summary: How did Steve get to this wilderness? Why is he all alone, without preparation of any sort? He was cast from 'perfect' society for a criminal form of love. He was sent here to rot or die at the hands of a monster. He won't give up. Mysterious elements used... plot holes shall be filled, no worries. SERIOUSLY CRAPPY SUMMARY... Warning: Future boyxboy. Don't like don't read.
1. Chapter 1

I wake up lying in short, coarse grass. My vision is blurry; as it clears I can make out a sandy beach in front of me. My position is cupped by a forest of mixed oak and birch. Mountains brushing clouds are in my peripheral vision. Standing, I remember why I am here. I am a criminal of an unspeakable crime, banished from the utopian city; sent here into the wild to die. The only reason I am not cremated is the fear that the air will be polluted by my evil. Sighing, my heart wrenches as I remember what got me here... No. I won't think about it - yet.

My name is Steve. And I must learn to survive.

After felling a tree with my fists (the wood is weak since a long ago nuclear explosion warped the genes) I wandered into the forest a bit. A small flock of sheep is in a clearing by a lake. Three of those creatures met their end by me. Those creatures... so weak... guilt tumultuously filled my core . Grimacing, I try not to shake while removing their wool. I hated doing this, but desperately need the material. After more aimless wandering, there is a patch of pumpkins. Very good luck. It is leveled by the bad luck of sunset. Staying outside at night would be suicide. Pacing in fear as the stars set up a delicate twinkle, I finally decided to dig a hole and hide in there for the night. Burying myself and shutting my eyes stinging with dirt, I spent a long and cold first night.

I woke up shivering with cold and hunger. Digging out into a pristine dawn, covered in dirt clots, I consider drowning myself or just staying the next night outside. So many others have come here and suffered, never succeeding. My head gave a violent a shake. _No. I cannot give up. For him._ I refuse to give into cowardice. I had plans of what to do here.

I wandered around. There is an island nearby. Or possibly just an oddly attached part of land. After trial and error, I manage to create a sloppy wooden axe. I use it to speed my tree-cutting before curiosity took over and I swam out to the island. (This was, yes, an island). There are pigs here. I killed them, though I now had the luxury of a weapon. I would need to eat here. After more exploring, I decide to make my home here on the island.

By nightfall, I've constructed a fort. Fort meaning a 5x5 meter wooden box, about 6 feet high. Open at the top. Using the leftover wood to construct a pickaxe and gathering stone, I pieced together a stove. The book had said that the stones and ores of this region are crucial to survival. That a stove is one of the first things I should try to make. If he hadn't gotten me that book, I'd likely be dead by now.

After badly burning my food, I laid on the rough grass floor of my shelter, back on the splintering wood, head in my hands. My head swirled with fear and skepticism, but in my heart I felt the pounding of determination. I had the book. I would survive. I would find all the others sent to this hell. Hell… That's how the Unifiers described this place. But there was fresh air and fertile land, in a lonely scary way, it was nice. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

A throaty, wet sounding groan snatched the hope away. The monsters. They are what Unifiers shove at us the most. The dead here come back to life to torture the living. Giant spiders scurry and kill. Green beasts burst in suicidal missions to end anyone they see. A shake ripples through my body as the images shown in the threatening government-run commercials. The chill reminded me of the wool. Still shivering, I made a little wooden platform and threw chunks of wool onto it. My day and my emotions had me exhausted. Attempting to equally cover myself and lay on the scratchy substance, I willed myself to sleep. I eventually succumbed to it with tears staining my face.

Dreams of him floated in my mind. He smiled at me. He came running to hug me. But then a green checkered spider knocked him to the ground, hissing in his face. He screamed, he screamed for me to save him. I wanted to rescue my lover, but the Unifiers had me surrounded. The more I tried to push them away from me, the more there were, the louder his cries became! Panicking, clawing fighting! The blood I drew from the Unifiers become semi solid and tangled me in a hot sticky rope. One of them struck me in the back harshly and made stars flash in my vision. My eyes flashed open and I was on the ground, having fallen from the "bed".


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **I had writer's block ;_;

Plus it's difficult to be realistic, since Minecraft gives you toolmaking and gravitational abilities that need to be there for it to _be_ Minecraft, and... Rant over xD

Shoving myself onto my knees then feet, I dust off the wool, dirt clumps, and grass clinging to me. My body feels stiffer than that cursed wooden board. Sitting back down on the bed with a groan, the memory of pork enters my mind. Exhaustion had caused me to forget to eat. I bit into a slice of it. It is cold and bland and tough, congealed meat juice making me shiver in disgust as it slithers down my throat. That must be how I taste. How can such a soft city boy survive here? The only exercise my body's ever experienced was constructed, a trainer at my side practically bottle feeding me water. My old bed... It was soft as a cloud. I growled at myself, knowing reminiscing would do nothing for me. Retaliating against my weak side, I set out for another tree, figuring a roof would be necessary. There is a tall, skinny oak tree right by my fort. May as well.

I gripped my crude tool tightly and swung at the tree. It fell soon enough, but managing the branches took me hours. The sight of my hands made me cringe. They were covered in splinters and scraped all over, red strings of blood appearing here and there. This is WORK. Get used to it! I berated my body whimpering to quit.

Piling dirt near my fort so I could climb on it, I scrambled up to to the top of my wall. I gingerly raised the walls from 6 feet to about 9 feet; laying wooden planks atop the existing structure. The tricky part was going to be the roof. Sitting on my work, I thought about my problem. Ugh, I'm sweating. Resolving to wash up in the lake nearby later, I half walked, half fell back down my dirt pile to look at my roofing issue from below. I paced around the inside of my little shelter, staring up at the edge of the wall. I grimaced at the sight of the uneven edges. They locked in and out like... like a jigsaw puzzle. Cue light-bulb Before I realize it, I'm back on top of the fort fitting the light wood into the notches of the wall. Satisfaction pounds in my chest, and I smile. I've never felt... accomplished? that sounds like the right word... I've never really felt like that before. Not on this level. The feeling fuels me forward, and I'm done soon. Well, it feels soon. It's well past noon as I look at the sky.

I scurried down the pile still invention-high. After scarfing down some not-quite-as-cold meat, I hacked together a box to put some of the random items I'd acquired, and a simple door. Though sunset was approaching and I was shaking from the exertion, I was hell bent on taking a bath. The lake was only about 10 feet from my house anyways.

After stripping, I sank slowly into the- not unpleasantly- cold water. For a moment I was utterly confused on what to do; soap was nowhere to be found. Hesitating, I started to just scrub my body with my hands. As I washed, memories floated back into my mind.

The city was always bright and clean and crisp. Nathan... In a cold and robotic world, he was warmth and love for me. A smile works its way across my face as I remember how we met.

I was walking away from a coffee stand after receiving my morning ration. The faces around me may as well have been blank. It was just like every other day. Suddenly there was a noise other than the shuffling of feet. It was so unfamiliar, my brain couldn't quite realize what it was. Then I saw a handsome young boy had managed to spill his coffee all over himself. Others were as surprised as I was that there was a coffee cup rolling along the floor, but a curious or dirty look and they were on their way. The poor boy was wide eyed and whimpering, no doubt horrified by his mistake.

Something compelled me to approach him, I don't know what. But I did. "H-hello," my voice was unfamiliar with a word that was not commanding orders to a machine, "Are... You alright?"

"K-kind of... I spilled my coffee..."

I had startled him, obviously. He was eyeing me up and down in complete confusion. "You... Do you want to share mine? I know you'll get a bad headache if you don't... get some..." The whole thing SCREAMED awkward. But there was still this magic to it.

"Sure... But... I'm all... messy." He replied softly.

"Oh, oh, it's okay!" I said, bizarrely desperate to talk with this stranger. "My laundry-bot, it will take care of it quickly."

The boy, about 4 inches shorter than me, smiled shyly. He had short brown hair, several shades lighter than mine. And his eyes, I can feel them even now. Seeing the soft light in deeply blue orbs for the first time. It still makes me sigh.

As the stars appeared, I realized I needed to return to the safety of my shelter. I awkwardly shake-dried myself before grabbing my still-filthy clothes and... no. I can't put them back on. I quickly rubbed them together in the lake and put them on a branch to drip-dry. Though the thought of sleeping nude in that wretched wool makes my skin crawl, putting sweaty, dirty clothes on a newly cleaned body is worse.

As it was, that didn't matter much, as I was asleep almost before I touched the bed.


	3. Chapter 3

**SOOO sorry for the delay _'' Life and crap xD**

My sleep was dreamless. By the time consciousness entered me, it was halfway to noon. Groaning, I painfully stretched my aching back, as well as my aching everything else. After chewing a thoroughly stale pork chop, I stood and stalked out the door. Tilting my head in concentration, my sleep-blurred mind tried to figure out what to do now. Mine. Mining would be essential to success here. But... where? Time to explore, I guess.

Heading north, some sugarcane plants caught my eye. Something besides pork to eat would be nice... I took a quick detour to pick it and replant it by my house. The green stalks were slightly cooler than the world around them; pleasant to the touch. Nestling them in the sand near my home, I admired the little act of farming. Back on my way, I crossed the shallow stretch of water between my island and the next. Squishy mud sucked at my feet as I dredged my way through the lake.

Once I reached the new island, I saw a large herd of pigs. My stock of food wouldn't last forever, so I decided to take one of them down and spare the rest. After slaying the poor pink creature, I happened across another pumpkin, and took this with me as well.

The new island held nothing much. Trees, pigs, and that was it. Definitely no sign of what I needed, a path underground that will provide essential coal and iron. Squinting at the sky, I saw that the sun was at its peak. Gazing at the intimidatingly majestic mountain range to the east, my stomach twisted slightly. It looked easy to get lost among the craggy peaks and sheer cliffs. But that biome was supposedly rich with ore. I let a deep breath soothe me and headed across the lake to the almost nonexistent foot of the range.

Climbing the precipice, my eyes sharp with paranoia, an icy wind stings my face. A low sound resonated in the air, and I went rigid. Cautiously, I peeked over the ridge. My eyes were met with placid brown ones, and their owner baa-ed at me. Slack with relief, I joined the creature on the mountain top. He (or possibly she), was surrounded by dozens more. Eyes roaming about, heavy black dots in the face of another cliff caught my attention. A smile broke out across my face as I jogged to the discovery. Sure enough, coal was embedded in this mountain. Swinging at it with a wooden pick I had fashioned, the substance broke apart with much effort. The cold mountain air ended up being good for something, a breeze bringing with it a satisfying chill. I collected the sooty black lumps and grinned at a sheep who'd been watching me. My mind decided to become aware of the concept of time once again when the herd began clumping together and lying down. Dusk.

I ran for my life, falling down the cliff several times. But in the end, I was safe  
ly in my shelter by the time the moon showed her pale face. Sitting on my wool-coated slab of wood, reflected once again on that first day I met him.

After being in my laundry room about 10 minutes, the boy exited and sat next to me on my couch. Those lovely blue eyes were wide with questions and confusion. "Here." I offered him the remainder of my coffee, which was about half the cup. He smiled weakly and took the cup, starting to sip from it. The silence was suffocating. "What's your name?" I asked suddenly. I don't remember the last time I learned someone's name who wasn't an actor or singer.

"Nathan," was the quiet response, "Nathan McAllister."

"My name is Steve Trenton." I replied. "Are you... are you alright? That must have shaken you up." Conversation is so much harder than it is portrayed in television and movies.

Nathan nodded enthusiastically, light suddenly flooding his face. "Much better after you helped me." For the third time that day I'm mesmerized by his eyes. They're so expressive, and right now they're almost flooding with gratitude. Then the confusion crept back into his features. "But... why did you do that?"

"Umm... I don't really know, actually. I just... did it." My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to answer his question to myself.

"Well, it was very nice." Nathan hesitantly touched my arm, I think he was trying to mimic the socialization in the movies. His touch is so foreign, so strange, but so... I don't even know how to describe it, but it's had I last touched a person?

The only response I could muster was a slightly awkward smile. After an undefinable period of time just staring at each other, I managed more words. "So, tell me about yourself?" It was more of a question than a suggestion, but I had heard the phrase before and went with it.

"Uhh... Like what?" Nathan asked. There was no sarcasm or irritation in him, it was such an honest question. I couldn't help it but smile.

"Your favorite food?" I suggested, drawing it off the top of my head.A look of sheer concentration over took his face, a slight pout forming on his lips. After a moment he replied, "Chocolate-covered strawberries." I couldn't think of a cuter possible answer than that. "What about you?", he asked in return while I was still dazed by him.

"Hmm... Fried chicken." I replied, which earned a giggle from Nathan. "What?" I asked, as amused as confused.

"I don't know. It was just funny." He responded with a small smile still painted on his mouth.

Shaking my head at my companion's silliness, I formulated another question. "What's your favorite color?"

"Pink~!" He said happily, then looked down and turned that very color.

"What's the matter?" I asked, fairly sure that blushing equated embarrassment.

"I just... I kinda know it's silly for a boy to like pink. After all, no one makes anything for boys that's pink." He was staring at the floor, holding the coffee cup tighter.

"I don't think it's silly." He looked up hopefully.


End file.
